On 2008-05-10 12:36:09 +0100, "Clive George" said:

"Andy Hall" wrote in message news:48253391@qaanaaq...

For example, zoning restrictions in France initially controlled th
growth of large hypermarkets such as Carrefour and Auchan but permitted
smaller format stores such as Lidl to establish a presence. The
latter has begun to lead to the demise of the specialist retailers of
each food type who have traditionally sold the best quality products.

I still see very few Lidls - the place still seems to be dominated by
the French brands, who have all sizes of store, and aren't the massive
discounters that Lidl are.

clive

Fortunately that's still largely true. The smaller format stores are
typically Intermarche, but the Lidl disease is beginning to appear.